You are here

Recycling and Environment

Recycling Changes: "Don't Bag It!"

Cleveland has an extremely easy recycling process called single stream which means residents can put all accepted recyclables in one container, while some communities have to sort recyclables into different containers. In areas that have received access to the automated curbside recycling collection program, residents have a blue recycling cart to place recyclables in that is collected weekly. Residents may also take recyclable materials to any City of Cleveland recycling dumpster.

The City's goal is to make the most of these recycling efforts. However, the facility that processes Cleveland's recyclables - the material recovery facility (MRF) - has asked the City to not promote the use of plastic bags to contain recyclables. This is a change in the industry that improves the sorting and processing of recyclable materials. According to the MRF, plastic bags contribute to high contamination rates and sorting machine failures. Therefore, residents should no longer bag recyclables. Rather, residents should place them loose in blue recycling carts and drop-off dumpsters. To continue the ease of recycling, residents can place recyclables in a paper bag, cardboard box or smaller plastic bin inside the home and use that to carry recyclables to a blue cart.